Likely a "newbie" problem...

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

Since I started running this anti-virus (which I must say is awesome, I don’t have to deal with a program telling me, “Woops! You got a virus! Annndd I can’t delete it, oh well”) I have been noticing these unusual “crashes” (though not really) on closing Internet Explorer windows. It doesn’t happen all the time, but it is phrased along the lines of giving a mem address and saying “This memory can not be “read”.”

Now I have gone through some of the archived posts here with some keyword searches and I’m seeing it could be a virus (though Avast didn’t report any getting in) but I did see someone say “Make sure you’re not closing the window while Avast is scanning” (which I assume is when the “a” logo in the startbar is spinning - that its scanning the files on the page, I close the page, the mem location resets itself, and suddenly the memory can not be “read”). Is that what I’m doing? Or could it be something else? Because when I finally throw Norton’s Antivirus down the toilet on my BF’s machine (which I should have done a LONG time ago!!!) he started getting these errors too.

And I must say, thank you thank you thank you for making this. That boy is sadly computer illiterate (what can I do, I’m a geek who hooked up with a jock) and I still have nightmares about trying to disinfect his PC because he has this nasty habit of just typing “things” and not addresses into the Address bar… augh… :wink:

Thanks for any help anyone here can give. :slight_smile:

  • LYNX Scout

PC Specs: Windows XP Home, eMachine T4510 p4 2.53(i know, im lazy, but the homebuilt is on its way) vNidia Geforce 4t thousand something (too lazy to look, dont think the card’s the issue) and eMachine T3065 Athlon 3000+ (again, sheer laziness!) + ATI Radeon 9600pro 128, 1gig.

2

Just checked - the error is coming specifically from iexplorer.exe, not Avast. But the only thing that started this was when I installed avast (the other PC did not do this until I changed virus scanners.)

3

Scout, I really tried to read and understand but I could not…
Can you rephrase, shortly, what is wrong in your computer?
Thanks.

4

Computers run as normal. No slowing, or anything.

I’ll close an IExplorer window. After the window closes, I get an iexplorer.exe application error that states there is an error at memory location (code), which ends “the memory cannot be “read”. Clock OK to terminate program.” But the program is already terminated.

This only happens intermittently - not every time I close a window, so I’m having trouble reproducing it for the exact phrasing at the moment.

Scans come up clean, after running adware/spyware programs it still shows up.

5

Maybe you can test your RAM memory. On Links in my signature there are some suggestion. But better will be Google for freeware applications to test RAM.
As far I could know, this is hardware problem or a software conflict… but, the second won’t be easy to follow… maybe you could post a list of the running programs/processes.
Are your Windows and Office updated?

6

Windows is autoupdated (and is current), I do not have Office installed on either machine.

A first quick sweep with a RAM tester has shown 0 errors, but I’ll leave it running longer after I finish this.

If it is a software conflict I may be able to (hopefully) drag one of my computer savvy brothers over to check that sort of thing as that won’t be easy to figure out how to do going back and forth in a forum… worst come to worst I have my brother link through MSNmessenger (which I don’t normally leave running) so he can take over the PC and check from his house.

I got the wording of the actual error:

Application error: iexplorer.exe The instruction at “0x030aa584” referenced memory at “0x030aa584”. The memory could not be “read”. Click OK to terminate.

This happens after I have already closed all iexplorer windows. If I have several open and close 1 or 2, it doesn’t happen, but if I close the last window, this error has the chance of popping up. It is like I said, intermittent. The last error reported the same location also, but I’m not sure if it is reporting the same one every time, I’d have to monitor that.

Both machines have been reformatted recently, with the Athlon being the most recent, and nothing, literally nothing runs on it but IE and a game called Horizons. This other PC does not have HZ installed on it. The only thing they share in common is avast!, and the computer which had the errors first was doing it first, when I added avast! to the Athlon, it started there also.

Realistically, I should likely move away from IE to a different browser as IE is such a conduit for nastiness anyway, but I’d like to at least know if this is not something virus-based going on or fouling with the scanner. The fact that IE crashes after I close it doesn’t exactly get in my way.

The RAM in both machines is old; the Athlon just had some replaced, so it is possible there are some bad sectors on the remaining old DIMM in the Athlon and also the one in the P4, but normally that does more to performance than just an occasional wierd error message.

Thanks a lot for your continuing help. :slight_smile:

7

Now I know that you have the AMD processor… This fact remember me that is very common this problem in configurations with both AMD Athlon + not recents nVidia GeForce. Maybe also you’re running in background MSN Game Zone?

ADDED: I see also you have this game installed. 99% the problem is here.

8

There’s 2 different PC’s with the same error.

1 AMD Athlon + ATI Radeon 9600 + Boring MMO :wink:

1 Pentium 4 + GeForce 4000something and no boring MMO :wink:

The P4 had the errors first, though I can’t remember if it was before or after the new card was installed.

After installing avast on the athlon, it started getting the same type of error on IE shutdown.

MSN Game Zone is not insatlled on either PC.

Believe me, I know HZ is a prime example of funked up spaguetti programming. I have long conversations with ex-devs. :wink:

9

eh eh eh… the pc troubleshooting is something like the Tarot Reading some time. ;D
I know many guys with problems of the same type as yours with Unreal T. and also Halo 2. In some cases if you “play” with overclocks this problems are continuos and irritating. This is not your problems, I see.

10

Yah, no, I’m not overclocking. HZ isn’t really a FPS MMO either, so no need, even if the machine could handle it. When I build my new machine it will be able to overclock, but I won’t be doing that, it’ll be fast enough on it’s own. My main concern is that it isn’t viral in nature though, which it seems like it isn’t, which is good.

(turns card) Ahh… the Death card… great upheaval exists in my compter’s RAM, I see many changes coming :wink:

11

well, buy the better one, the Kingston and a powerful powersource (at least 400 W real)

12

:slight_smile: Are you sure you have COMPLETELY removed the Norton ;
it has a “habit” of having bits & pieces “hanging” around on
one’s machine !? I recently uninstalled Norton and before I
downloaded Avast, I used my machine’s “Search” feature
to look for any “leftover” Norton/Symantec files and folders.
There were quite a few. The I ran my registry cleaner,
Registry First Aid and it removed some more Norton/
Symantec entries. Then I downloaded, then installed
Avast ; did you do these cautionary “steps” ?

13

I tried to get most of Norton’s out, but sadly my computer literacy is low. I stopped paying attention some time around DOS 6.0, and I pay for that now… :wink: It was never installed on the other machine though (the P4) which also gets those errors…

… well, fortunately I’ll move out of these storebuilt machines soon enough and only have on them the things I want/need, so I don’t have to deal with this anymore. I figured building a new machine would be the best way to learn/relearn all of this stuff anyway, so I’m going to be doing that in the next few months to repace at least one machine, and now I’m starting to waffle on replacing them both…

… as for Kingston memory, it is the only kind I buy, best quality for the price… I figure when I build the new one I can break apart one of the old ones and try to get all the mest moveable hardware into one case (memory etc) so it has the least problems, and maybe a clean install of Windows (as opposed to the restore disks I’m stuck with at the moment).

Again thanks everyone for your continued assitance with this :slight_smile: